How much cooler space for an elk?

[Huntingpreacher]

Hey a buddy and I are getting ready to hunt 1st rifle in Colorado. If we were to both get lucky and kill bulls, how much cooler space would we need? We'll be traveling from eastern Oklahoma so meat will need to stay cool for a while.

 

[TheCougar]

I have a 90qt cooler which will hold two elk fronts, but you have to debone the bottom half of the shoulder, otherwise it is too long. I also have a 120qt (I think) that I can fit two rear quarters and the goody bag. There isn't much room for ice and I have to beat on the quarters a bit to get them in there, but they'll fit. That's the absolute minimum for a large bull.

 

[Scott/IL]

I returned home with 2 150 qt coolers and a 70 qt. cooler. That was for 1 deboned bull at 295 pounds of meat, plus his cape.

If it was just the meat, I would have made due without the 70qt.

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[Huntingpreacher]

Thank you guys. The meat will be deboned so to be safe, would you recommend 4, 150 quart ice chests for 2 bulls?

 

[ElkNut1]

Yes, 4 - 150 quart coolers will do it! My son & I took 2 of them this year on his WY elk hunt. It handled his elk no problem on the bone, none of it was deboned. We put 2" of ice on the bottom, meat on its sides & filled in & on top with cubed ice. Refreshed with ice as needed.

ElkNut/Paul

 

[huntabsarokee]

For just the meat from a typical size bull a 100 qt will typically handle it. A 150 qt gives you a more room for ice and I prefer the 150. If the meat is not frozen I like to put blocked ice on the bottom of the cooler probably 3 or 4 blocks and the meat on top. The ice takes a decent amount of space up. This year I had my elk processed in town so I picked it up frozen. Meat went on the bottom of a 150 qt already vac sealed. Then I put a large beach towel and card board on top, followed by 20 pounds of dry ice, and another beach towel. Meat was still frozen solid after 32 hours on the road with temps in the 90s for some of it. A 100 qt would not have allowed enough space for the towels.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

150s are a bit bulky but certainly work. I run two 120s and typically can fit a rear and a front bone in with lots of ice. If really large might need to debone. In the Coleman I use I think the 150s are just longer as opposered to wider or deeper if a really large bone in elk rear was causing issue it likely still would in both.

 

[Trial153]

Last elk I killed I boned out and it fit in a 105 and 110 with room to spare. I had plenty of room for ice.

 

[ericF]

We use a 150qt cooler and fit a quartered out elk in it for the drive back to town. There is not much room for ice if you do it this way, but it is only for a couple hour drive to the processor. If you are boning out both bulls, then you will probably be fine with 3 150qt coolers with ice packed in.

 

[rbljack]

Last elk I killed I boned out and it fit in a 105 and 110 with room to spare. I had plenty of room for ice.

So two Yeti 105's would be big enough to hold 1 elk deboned, with room for ice? I didn't think that was going to be big enough (I currently have one, and was debating what I should do to complete my set up.

 

[Huntingpreacher]

Thank you. Space will be tight so that's encouraging.

 

[Trial153]

So two Yeti 105's would be big enough to hold 1 elk deboned, with room for ice? I didn't think that was going to be big enough (I currently have one, and was debating what I should do to complete my set up.

yea I made it with the two. it was cold so I stacked it in pretty tight. I had block ice on the bottom.
the profile of the longer 110s for example are way better than the higher 105. I am thinking of picking up another longer profile cooler like the 160. I have a 150qt Colman Martine cooler with a busted side and handle that needs replacing..its a pain in the ass cause I have to use duck tape to close the deal otherwise road dirt and water will get in if it's on my truck hitch.

So two Yeti 105's would be big enough to hold 1 elk deboned, with room for ice? I didn't think that was going to be big enough (I currently have one, and was debating what I should do to complete my set up.

 

[ridgefire]

The 165 quart coolers from Costco work awesome for elk quarters, can fit a elk in it with the bone in. Less than a hundred bucks as well.

 

[bcopley1116]

Do you guys think a 120 qt coleman xtreme marine and a yeti 75 would be enough for one boned out elk?

 

[snowtoy83]

I brought back a boned out bull in a 120q and 50q Coleman extreme. It was a medium sized bull

 

[DEHusker]

In my experience, the amount of cooler space you need totally depends upon what you are doing. This year, I had my meat processed where I shot my bull and when it's frozen solid you can't pack it quite as tightly in a cooler as you can plane boned out meat. However, it's a wash if you put ice in with your fresh unfrozen meat. My bull this year took up 150 quart, a 60 quart, and a 50 quart cooler. I did put in the Cape as well with some other meat in the 50 quart cooler. It all barely fits. In the past, fresh unfrozen meat deboned you can packed tightly into 150 quart cooler with a 60 quart cooler or so. This is for a good size bull and a cow was probably a bit less of course. Don't forget that a cape from a good size bull will take up quite a bit a room in a cooler and it's tough to let it sit out for more than a few hours in the sun before it starts to rot.

 

[missjordan]

My yeti 125 quart cooler will hold all four bone-in quarters + loose meat and leave a little room for ice. If you were to debone everything you'd have plenty of room. We hung the quarters out overnight and then put ice in and around everything and they stayed chilled all the way home. If you had a cape I would think everything would fit comfortably if the meat was deboned.


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[alwayslookingwest]

Just a thought, as I'm admittedly not an Elk hunter just yet.... but my plan was to bring a chest freezer in the bed of my truck plugged into a appropriately sized inverter for the long drive home. My thought was to buy the ideal size for my truck, 12-16 cubic feet somewhere in there and use it for the trip than upon arriving home it makes a great spare freezer, or sell it at a decent price. Either way a freezer and an inverter will cost way less than 2 yeti coolers and keep things frozen till I arrive home. Bring an extension cord to plug into a hotel room (get a first floor, I did this for years trailering my walleye boat around the country), or in the back country bring your generator. Personally I think a freezer is a much easier option than a pile of coolers.

ALW


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[Trial153]

Just a thought, as I'm admittedly not an Elk hunter just yet.... but my plan was to bring a chest freezer in the bed of my truck plugged into a appropriately sized inverter for the long drive home. My thought was to buy the ideal size for my truck, 12-16 cubic feet somewhere in there and use it for the trip than upon arriving home it makes a great spare freezer, or sell it at a decent price. Either way a freezer and an inverter will cost way less than 2 yeti coolers and keep things frozen till I arrive home. Bring an extension cord to plug into a hotel room (get a first floor, I did this for years trailering my walleye boat around the country), or in the back country bring your generator. Personally I think a freezer is a much easier option than a pile of coolers.

ALW


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I have seen this repeatedly done for NF moose hunts with groups of guys taking a freezer on trailers to the island. By all accounts it works well.

 

[DEHusker]

Just a thought, as I'm admittedly not an Elk hunter just yet.... but my plan was to bring a chest freezer in the bed of my truck plugged into a appropriately sized inverter for the long drive home. My thought was to buy the ideal size for my truck, 12-16 cubic feet somewhere in there and use it for the trip than upon arriving home it makes a great spare freezer, or sell it at a decent price. Either way a freezer and an inverter will cost way less than 2 yeti coolers and keep things frozen till I arrive home. Bring an extension cord to plug into a hotel room (get a first floor, I did this for years trailering my walleye boat around the country), or in the back country bring your generator. Personally I think a freezer is a much easier option than a pile of coolers.

ALW


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I have seen this more and more in CO over the last few years. Good idea. I am a bit concerned for bad weather on the way home, however. If it rains/hails, etc then I'm not sure how the freezer will handle it. Put a good tarp over it I guess. It's way cheaper than a yeti, for sure.